Free ERP Log: Exposure and Response Prevention Inhibitory Learning Tracker
Exposure · Inhibitory Learning · Manualised
A structured log for tracking Exposure and Response Prevention exercises across each trial: the trigger, the client's predicted outcome, which safety behaviours were deliberately dropped, what actually happened, an expectancy-violation rating, and which generalisation cues were varied.
Underlying mechanism: Inhibitory learning applied to Exposure and Response Prevention (ERP)
What it helps with
- Keeping the focus of ERP review on the mismatch between prediction and outcome, where new learning happens, rather than on anxiety level alone.
- Making safety-behaviour drops explicit and trackable, so "enduring anxiety" is not mistaken for a completed trial when a covert safety behaviour was still in use.
- Building a session-by-session record clinicians can review for pattern and progress across the active ERP phase.
- Prompting deliberate variation of context (generalisation cues) so learning extends beyond the exact conditions of each trial.
How clinicians use it
- Used throughout the active exposure phase of ERP treatment, typically sessions 4–12.
- Reviewed each session with explicit attention to the mismatch between predicted and actual outcome, not just the SUDs trajectory.
- Checked against the client's safety-behaviour list to confirm no covert safety behaviour undermined a logged trial.
Clinical Implementation Guide
- Confirm the predicted outcome is specific and falsifiable before the trial, not a vague sense of dread — vague predictions cannot be violated cleanly.
- Check the safety-behaviour column every session; a trial completed with a hidden safety behaviour still in place undermines the inhibitory learning intended.
- Use low expectancy-violation ratings as a cue to revisit the prediction's specificity or the client's belief conviction, not as a failed trial.
What the worksheet looks like
| Trigger | Predicted Outcome | Safety Behaviour Dropped | Actual Outcome | Expectancy Violation (0-10) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Touched a public door handle without washing hands. | I will get seriously ill within 24 hours. | Did not wash hands or use sanitiser for two hours. | No illness. Felt anxious for roughly 40 minutes, then it eased. | 8 |
| Left the house without checking the stove three times. | The house will burn down. | Checked once only, walked away without returning. | Came home to an intact, safe house. | 7 |
Clinical cautions
ERP should only be conducted with appropriate clinical training. Do not assign self-directed ERP for contamination fears involving actual health risks or harm-related obsessions without thorough assessment.
References
- Craske, M. G., et al. (2014). Maximizing exposure therapy: An inhibitory learning approach. Behaviour Research and Therapy, 58, 10-23.
- Abramowitz, J. S., et al. (2019). Exposure therapy for anxiety: Principles and practice. Guilford.
Part of
Systematic Exposure Protocol